REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT PRIVATE PARTY
The Empire Room
The Palmer Hilton Hotel
Chicago, Illinois

7:30 P.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT: We had a rally upstairs. You heard them, didn't
you? In the ballroom. A little loud. And I hope we didn't interrupt
you. So there's an overflow crowd in the lobby. And they said they
have to go through the edge of another ballroom. (Laughter.) So here I
am. (Laughter and applause.)

So I've invaded your dinner. (Laughter.) Well, thank you for the
wonderful, warm welcome. I'm in Chicago today to basically say goodbye
to the people of Chicago and Illinois as President.

It's a very happy day for me in many ways. This hotel, since
you're here for that, I should tell you, this hotel plays a huge role in
my life. And I have two pictures of this hotel. That's what I told
them upstairs, I have two pictures of this hotel which I look at every
day of my life. One is of the lobby on St. Patrick's Day of 1992;
Hillary and I are standing there with green graffiti -- not graffiti,
what do you call it -- confetti, not graffiti, confetti -- (laughter and
applause) -- it's been a long day. And a long eight years. (Laughter.)
Confetti coming down, because that's the night that we won the
Democratic primary in Illinois, which basically sealed my nomination.
(Applause.)

The second picture was my mother and my father dining here in 1946.
(Applause.) And that's in my private office in the Residence of the
White House. I look at it every night -- every single night. So I've
seen those two pictures of this place every day for eight years. This
is also where I basically kicked off my campaign in Illinois in December
of 1991, and so I'm very happy to be here.

And I wanted to come here for my last appearance in Chicago as
President. And I want to tell all of you that it's been an honor to
serve. I'm glad my country is in better shape than it was eight years
ago. (Applause.) I thank all of you for the role that you've played in
revitalizing our country. And I wish only the best for the future.

I've said many times and I'll say again, America may find people
who do this job better than I have, but you will never find anybody who
loved doing it any more. Thank you very much. (Applause.)